Keyboard-cover for type-writing machines.



No. 670,69l. Patantedllar. 26, I90l.

C. P. SEIPPEL.

KEYBOARD COVER FOR TYPE WRITING MACHINES.

(Application filed Jan. 17, 1901.)

(No Model.)

WI TNE SSE 8 A TTOHN E YS TnD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLARA PAULINE SEIPPEL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 670,691, dated March 26, 1901.

Application filed January 17, 1901- Serial No. 43,607. (No model.)

.PEL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Keyboard-Cover for Type-Writing Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a cover for the keyboards of type-writing machines especially adapted for use in the teaching of touch type-Writing orthe manipulation of the keyboard while the keyboard is concealed, and, further, to so construct the keyboard-cover that it will in no wise be an obstruction, the operator being able to manipulate the type-writer with the same freedom when the cover is used as when the cover is removed.

A further object of theinvention is to pro vide a cover made of a soft or textile material and a spring-frame for the cover having spring clamps for attachment to the front posts of the type-writing machine, the cover being capable of vertical adjustment on the machine and of such construction that it will not interfere with the working of the shifting lover of the carriage.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of referenceindicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a typewriting machine of the Remington type, illustrating the application of the device thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the frame of the device adapted for use in connection with a Remington machine. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the frame shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a plan View of the device adapted for connection with a Smith Premier machine, a portion of the cover being broken away from the frame; and Fig. 5 is a transverse section through the frame, the section being taken practically on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4-.

In each form of the device the frame A is constructed of spring-wire of suitable gage. A body B, of a yielding material, preferably fabric, is secured to the frame in such manner that when the frame has been attached to the machine the body B of the cover will be over the bank of keys and when brought down close to the keys will conceal the characters or letters usually produced thereon.

Each type of frame A is provided. with clamps C, and these clamps are adapted to engage with the front posts of the machine, as shown in Fig. 1.

When the device is constructed for attachment to a Remington machine, the frame consists of a front bar and end bars 11 and 12 at right angles to the front bar. The clamps C are located at the inner terminals of the end members 11 and 12. The end bar 12 is provided with a downwardly-extending loop or stirrup 13, which will enable the shifting lever of the carriage to readily pass over the body B withoutinterfering with said body. At each inner terminal of each end bar 11 and 12 the material of the frame is carried horizontally outward, forming lower extension members 14:, which are at right angles to the end sections 11 and 12 of the frame. The material is then bent up and inward in the form of an open loop 15, and the ends 16 of the material are carried below the said loops practically parallel with the members 14, as shown in Fig. 3.

The front posts of a Remington machine are angularin cross-section,and in placing the device on such a machine the ends are sprung in direction of each other until the space between the members of the open loop is 0pposite the front members of the front posts of the machine, whereupon the ends of the frame are released from pressure and the said front members of the front posts will enter the spaces between the members of the said open loops,and the said loops and connected parts will efiectually hold the device in po' sition over the keyboard. It is evident that the device may be adjusted to any desired position on the front posts of the machine to suit the operator or may be carried up to a sufficient height to expose the keyboard, if de sirable.

In Figs. 4 and 5 I have illustrated the adaptation of the device to a Smith Premier machine, in which the front posts are rectangular or square in cross-section.

Under this latter construction the frame A consists of a front bar 17, end bars 18, and a rear crossbar A the flexible or yielding body B being secured to the end bars, front bar, and rear bar; but in all forms of the device I desire it to be understood that the flexible or yielding body may be attached to the frame in any approved manner. The end bars 18 of the frame (shown in Figs. 4 and 5) extend rearward beyond the rear cross-bar A and the material forming the end bars is bent inward horizontally and returned outwardly, forming the upper inner members 20 of U-shape-d clamps O. The material is then carried rearward, forming the upper outer portions 21 of the said clamps, and then the material is carried inward parallel with the members 20 to form the upper rear members 22 of the clamps. Next the material is carried downward, forming vertical members 23, which constitute the rear members of the clamp. Next the material is carried outward parallel with the upper rear members 22, constituting lower rear members 24, and lower rear members 25 are formed by carrying the material in direction of the front and parallel with the upper members 21, and finally the material is carried horizontally inward parallel with the members 24, forming the lower front members 26 of the clamps.

When the frame is attached to the Smith Premier machine, the end members 18 of the frame are curved downward and rearward at the rear of the rear cross-bar A as shown at 19 in Fig. 5, and in the construction of both forms of the frame the front bars are arched and the rear cross-bar A likewise. When the form of the frame shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is to be applied to a machine, the end members are forced apart and the U-clamps O engage with the front uprights or posts of a Smith Premier from the outside.

It will be observed that when a cover of the above description is employed the keyboard will be entirely concealed and that the flexible or pliable body of the device will offer no appreciable resistance to the fingers when striking the keys.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A keyboard-cover for type-writing machines, consisting of a frame provided with clamps arranged for attachment to the front posts or uprights of the frame of the machine, and a flexible or yielding body carried by the frame, which body is adapted to conceal the keys of the keyboard but ofier but little resistance to the manipulation of the keys, as specified.

2. A keyboard-cover for type-writing machines, comprising a spring-frame, a flexible or yielding body attached to the frame, and spring-clamps located at the rear ends of the end members of the frame, which clamps are adapted for engagement with the front posts or uprights of the frame of a type-writing machine.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a keyboard-cover for type-writing machines, comprising a spring-frame, a body of yielding material, and clamps arranged for engagement with the frame of a type-Writing machine, as specified.

4. A keyboard-cover for type-writing machines, comprising a spring-frame, springclamps formed at the rear portions of the ends of the frame, one side bar of the frame being provided with a downwardly-extending arched section, and a body of a yielding material, such as fabric, secured to the frame and conforming to the outline thereof, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

CLARA PAULINE SEIPPEL.

Witnesses:

J OHN M. HAGAR, GEORGE T. ODELL. 

